


Blood is Thicker than... Oil

by junko



Series: Scatter and Howl [43]
Category: Bleach
Genre: M/M, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-28
Updated: 2015-12-28
Packaged: 2018-05-10 00:26:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5561749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/junko/pseuds/junko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Renji attempts to sneak out of Byakuya's bed without Byakuya's auntie noticing....</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blood is Thicker than... Oil

Renji left Byakuya sleeping. As quietly as he could, he gathered up Zabimaru and his uniform and got dressed in the sitting room. 

The early morning light had a washed-out, tired quality that reflected Renji’s mood. 

As he pulled his hair up into his usual topknot, he stared out the window at the snow-dusted fields of the Kuchiki cherry orchard. Everything looked desolate and winter-dead. But, the longer he looked the more signs of the coming spring were visible--a hint of green at branch tips, and the small flock of egg-heavy copper pheasants wandered among the tree roots, plucking at tender shoots of new grass, their feathers shifting in the wan light..

Turning away from the window, Renji paused at the door, listening for sounds of activity in the hallway outside. Now that he knew that aunt Masama had the room directly across from the master suite, Renji took no chances. He slid the door open slowly, quietly.

Hanging on to the doorframe for a long time, Renji held his breath expectantly. He stared at the opposite door for several long minutes. When the specter of auntie never appeared, he risked tiptoeing down the hall.

“Lieutenant Abarai, I need to ask you a question.”

Renji straightened up and turned around. Inwardly he cringed, but wasn’t at all surprised to see a sleepy looking aunt standing in her open doorway. She wore the same kimono from last night, and he tried not to blush thinking about what she likely overheard in the sento. Of course it had been his idea, but it hadn’t occurred to him that he’d be confronting her so soon. He covered his embarrassment with gruffness. “Do you have a sixth sense or something, Lady?”

“One could only describe your reiatsu as ‘thundering,’ young man. Do they no longer teach the art of reiatsu cloaking in Academy?”

“I must’ve slept through it,” Renji shrugged.

“Indeed,” she said with a withering stare. “Byakuya-chan always insists that you graduated with top honors, but I have such a difficult time believing it.”

Renji stood in the hallway, ten paces from the back stairs that led to the kitchen, wondering if it was too early in the morning to start a family feud by kicking an old lady in the shins. He fantasized about it for several moments, but then let out a long breath. “Is that your question for me, Lady? Because I’d have thought that my Academy transcript would be easier to get a hold of than my Soul Record.” 

“Ah,” she said with a tiny hint of a smile. “Yes, as it happens, that was quite costly. Of course, it might not have been quite so expensive had you not told that horrible man about me.”

Renji shook his head. “I’m not going to feel guilty about that, Lady. You started it, and it’s like they say: if you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime.”

She arched her delicate eyebrows and then gave a meaningful glance at the bedroom where Byakuya lay sleeping. “How apropos.”

Renji had no idea what to say to that. He was beginning to doubt she actually had a real question for him. Besides, the longer they stood here arguing, the more likely they’d wake up Byakuya. He turned away from her and headed for the stairs.

“I’m not done with you,” she snipped authoritatively. Her tone was so reminiscent of how Byakuya used to talk to him that Renji almost stopped. He managed to keep moving with only the slightest hitch in his step.

“I got places I need to be,” Renji said over his shoulder. He wasn’t going to miss breakfast at the mess just because the Lady Kuchiki really wanted to spend the morning needling him. 

He could hear her stocking feet padding along behind him. “You may not turn your back on me.”

“I already did,” Renji reminded her, taking the stairs at a jog. 

He didn’t even have to check to know that Masama pulled up short, unwilling to take even one step onto a flight of stairs that was designated for servants. 

#

Byakuya woke to the unhappy sensation of knowing Renji had already left their bed for work and the heart-stopping sound of aunt Masama’s angry shriek outside the door. 

“How dare you! You belong to this household. I should have you caned!”

When he heard Eishirō’s soft, indistinguishable words of apology, Byakuya threw the covers off and bolted from the bed. Barely taking the time to pull his robe together, he sprinted the distance to the door. He flung it open ready to put his own body between his aunt and Eishirō, if necessary. 

Eishirō was on the floor, of course, completely supplicated. Aunt Masama stood in her sleeping kimono with a foot pulled back like she might kick him. 

Or already had.

Seeing Byakuya, she turned her rage on him. “Your nanny oversteps himself.”

Byakuya stepped over Eishirō’s supplicated form. His sudden nearness to her forced Masama to take a step back. “Eishirō is no longer my minder; he’s the house steward,” Byakuya said, taking great pains to keep his anger in check. “I demand to know what you think you’re doing.”

“He’s stolen my things.”

Of all the possible accusations, this one was the least expected. “You must be mistaken, my lady aunt. Eishirō has no reason to steal from us. Besides, what would Eishirō want with a lady’s things.”

Masama tried to return her gaze to Eishirō’s flattened form, but she didn’t seem to be able to see around Byakuya’s shoulders. She waved her fist at Byakuya; she clutched a bottle of something in her tight fingers. “Perhaps he meant to gift his wife. The massage oil is very expensive.”

Massage oil?

Byakuya tried to suppress the tingle of a blush that threatened to creep up his face. “I believe I understand what’s happened,” he said with a clearing of his throat. “You must have left your oil at the sento last night. I sent Eishirō to fetch some things that had been left behind. He must have picked yours up by mistake.”

“I know you’re fond of him, but you shouldn’t lie for your servants, Byakuya,” Masama chided. “It’s impossible for such a mistake to have occurred. My things were nowhere near yours.”

“Yes, they were,” Byakuya said. He wanted to leave it at that, but Masama opened her mouth, ready to protest. “I know because I took it. Renji and I used it last night.”

Byakuya watched all the color drain from Masama’s face, as he felt heat rising on his own. Her eyes went so wide that he was forced to lower his own. The bottle dropped from Masama’s hand as if it were suddenly poison... and on fire. “Oh. My. _God_.”

#

Conversation hushed when Renji walked into the mess hall. It was just a slight dip that quickly recovered, but it reminded him that not only was he Acting Captain now, but also that rumors were probably already circulating about the prison break and Byakuya’s relocation. 

As Renji got into line, he tried to think of a way to spin this whole situation. He’d have to say something to someone about it eventually, and Byakuya would go spare if Renji made it sound like Byakuya couldn’t tough out such a short prison stint. And rightly so. Maybe it was stupid, but the rank and file wanted to be assured their captain was strong and could handle anything. 

Even something unreasonable.

Because it was unreasonable to have sent Byakuya to the Maggot’s Nest for fraternization. That place was supposed to be for the unredeemable, for monsters. You didn’t seal a soul from their zanpakutō for playing footsie under the table with a subordinate. No, the only way that sort of barbarism made even an iota of sense was if it was only done when the crime was inhuman or the soul already insane. 

Sure, they hadn’t sealed Senbonzakura away, but they’d kept Byakuya from his zanpakutō. The threat was implied. That was the sort of shit that ripped a person apart, really fucked them up. Renji should know. Just the tiny moment when Byakuya had done it to him in the alley had been terrifying and soul-wrenching. He’d never felt quite so helpless, so willing to do anything to get Zabimaru back, to make sure they were safe from harm.

Maybe that was all he needed to say, really. The crime didn’t match the punishment. The situation had been rectified. End of story.

It was a good statement, informative and to the point, but now Renji only hoped he had the ability to just leave it there. Byakuya was better at the sort of situation that required a tight control of information. Renji had a tendency to keep talking, even when he knew he was saying too much.

Renji filled up his tray without interruption. Maybe being Acting Captain meant that people were less sure they were allowed to interrupt him? He decided to let that work to his advantage and took his tray out the door with him and headed to the lieutenant’s offices. 

The yard was busy with the sound of clanking practice swords. A dozen or so unseated faced off in pairs. They must have already been at it a while, as their bodies steamed in the cool winter air.

Kinjo, who was leading the exercise, gave Renji a little nod of greeting. Renji nodded back, though he was always a little wary of Kinjo. It surprised Renji no end that Kinjo had been part of the pact to keep the fraternization stuff under wraps, but, just because he’d fallen into line with the others, Renji still didn’t entirely trust the guy. It wasn’t that long ago they’d come to blows over the whole thing.

Just like the yard, the lieutenant’s office was hopping, too. With shift change imminent, a bunch of people were hanging out, chatting noisily in the breakroom. The hallway was steamy with all the tea water being boiled. There was the smell of something savory, too, like maybe someone had a pot of miso going. 

Renji had been hoping to find a spot to sit in the breakroom, but seeing how crowded it was, made his way to the main office instead. Nanako stood up when he came in. She hopped out of his chair, offering it to him. “Glad to see you back, Acting Captain,” she said. “How did… everything go?”

The group of seated officers checking the duty roster glanced over at him as well. “It’s been a long couple of nights,” Renji admitted. He set his tray down on his desk, and rolled up his Western-style office chair. “But, I think things are settled. Byakuya’s back under regular house arrest where he should’ve been from the start, and, so far as I know, everything’s back under control in the Maggot’s Nest. Did Soi Fon send any kind of report over?”

Not that she would, necessarily. Following up like that, especially when the whole situation was a massive fubar, was not really her strong suit. Now, if your division fucked up some minor security point…. yeah, you’d get it six ways from Sunday from her and a full-report, in triplicate.

“No,” Nanako said. “I did hear from a couple of our people about some of the Kuchiki trains.”

“Oh?” Renji almost choked on a mouthful of fried pork with ginger. “What the hell is going on out there?”

Grabbing some papers off the top of her desk, she pulled up the chair from the Third’s area and sat across from him. “One of the relatives did make a move on our unseated escort. The…” she flipped through her papers, until she found her note. “...Yukimura branch, very minorly connected to the Kuchiki, but with a lot of interests in…” more flipping, “...theater companies?” She seemed uncertain enough about that to double-check. “Yes, I guess that’s their big investment: Kabuki.”

Theater.

Renji had a very bad feeling about this. “They weren’t, by chance, travelling with a playwright/former actor by the name of Isoroku, were they?”

She rolled her chair back to her desk and dug through a few more folders. “Isoroku left early… oh!” She glanced over at Renji, “Oh, right, that’s the guy who… that is, um….”

“The guy who assaulted me and got slapped with a minor fine, yeah,” Renji said. “So, any chance these theater types met up on the road?”

Nanako pulled out a map and traced her fingers along differently colored lines. “They were headed in the same direction.”

So it was possible that rat Isoroku instigated something the second word reached the caravan that Byakuya was in trouble. “So what’s going on out there?” Renji brought the bowl of vegetable and miso soup to his lips, tipped it back, and gulped it down. “Is our unseated accounted for? Is the Kuchiki relative turning back toward us, readying some kind of attack?”

“I guess the arrival of our seated officer was enough for them to surrender. Tenth Seat Ando sent a butterfly late last night, saying that he and the unseated were safe and on their way back.”

“Right,” Renji said in relief. He mixed the pot of natto into the rice. “The second Ando hits the gates, you get him up to the estate. Him and the unseated. And let me know, so I can talk them through giving a full report to the captain. I’d have them just debrief with me, but these are Byakuya’s relatives. He’s going to have questions I can’t anticipate.”

“Yes, sir,” Nanako nodded.

“Please tell me everything else has been quiet,” Renji said wearily. Why did this stuff always happen when he’d had no decent sleep for days. To be fair, last night, at least, was entirely his own fault.

She gave Renji a funny little smile. “Well, Lieutenant Hisagi came around asking after your Seireitei Communiquė article. I scared him off by asking if the Communiquė was going to do any in-depth reporting on the Maggot’s Nest breakout.”

Renji snorted. The day that paper ran any real news would be a shocker. “Thanks for that. Keeping up with that fluff piece hasn’t exactly been a priority right now.”

Stealing a bit of pork from his plate with her fingers, Nanako asked, “So… how was it? The break out, I mean. I heard that the Kenpachi showed up.”

Renji nodded. “I think he left when he found out that we’d be shooting fish in a barrel.” When she gave him a quizzical look, he made a face. “Captain-level guarding the exits with orders to kill anyone who poked out a toe.”

Her face scrunched up. “Oh.”

“Yeah, not my best night,” Renji agreed. Then, he shook himself out with a deep breath. “On the other hand, I think the attempted escape was contained. And, the guys who came my way had a homemade bomb….so, you know.” 

He couldn’t quite bring himself to say that it was closer to a fair fight, because it wasn’t. They had a couple of chemical bombs; he had bankai.

Nanako nodded and gave Renji’s shoulder a little pat of understanding. “A soldier’s life, eh?”

Renji remembered that Nanako was one of those rare souls: the offspring of two active duty shinigami. Though her father had retired his commission to raise her in their noodle shop near the Eleventh, she was basically an army brat. So, he nodded and lifted his tea bowl to her in a kind of salute. “Here’s to it.”

She smiled, but said, “Here, here, but this soldier’s off to bed. I’ll leave word at the front gate about the Tenth Seat on the way to my bunk.”

“Thanks. Goodnight,” Renji nodded, turning his attention to the paperwork pile.

#

After his awkward run-in with his aunt, Byakuya retreated to his bedroom. Though he had no reason to, he dressed. He chose a simple outfit: dark blue hakama, a golden shitagi, and an around the house haori in a blue to match the hakama. Then, he found a spot near the fireplace and read until breakfast arrived. 

Once it was served, he held Eishirō back with a word. “If you would contact the kenseikan forge, I need to have a consult. My grandfather wore something after my father was invested. I presume it was buried with him?”

“It was, my lord,” Eishirō agreed.

“Then something new will have to be made for me, after all,” Byakuya said with a sigh. It was rare that he considered the cost of such things, but kenseikan were particularly excessive and he’d already had to replace one set thanks to Ichigo Kurosaki. 

Eishirō stayed on the floor, head bowed, awaiting further orders.

Byakuya considered offering an apology for his aunt’s behavior this morning, but he couldn’t. He _shouldn’t_ , at any rate. This was the sort of thing that was supposed to pass unremarked between them. To say something would be to acknowledge… what, exactly? That Kuchiki were fallible? 

Surely Eishirō had guessed that centuries ago.

Pouring himself a bowl of tea, Byakuya let out a sigh. “Why is it, that when we’re finally rid of my lady aunt, she always manages to devise a way back to the estate?”

Eishirō glanced up, clearly not sure he should speak freely. All the same, he cautiously ventured: “This place is her ladyship’s home. I suppose she feels entitled to it, particularly since most of her husband’s property was seized by the Gotei, all those years ago.”

It was? 

Byakuya sat up straighter. He’d always assumed that Koga’s holdings had remained in Kuchiki hands. “My grandfather didn’t fight this? He allowed the Court Guard to take our lands, our property as… what? Reprisal?”

“Just so, my lord,” Eishirō said. 

Byakuya had always known that Ginrei had completely turned his back to Koga and had allowed the Gotei to pursue and hound him, but this… 

The only person it would have served to punish was Masama. 

It was, of course, not atypical to force a whole family to suffer for the crime of its head of house. Entire families could be put to death: wife, children, parents… all expected to suffer the same fate as the guilty party. 

Perhaps Koga’s extended family would’ve all been executed, but he’d been adopted, invested… made the _Kuchiki_ heir.

Clearly, such severe measures could not be enacted when the criminal was from a family as untouchable as a True First, a Kuchiki. Ginrei must have negotiated this compromise, to spare the life of his first born. To spare them all… perhaps?

Or… to shield everyone. Everyone, except Masama.

No wonder she was so bitter and twisted.

“There are records,” Byakuya said. “Find them for me, Eishirō. I should like to know what business Koga’s family was in, what properties they owned, what was taken from them.”

Eishirō looked nervous. “What are you planning to do?”

Byakuya noticed that Eishirō had forgotten to use an honorific of any kind. It was as if the voice of his old tutor were speaking to a much younger version of himself. “Nothing at the moment,” Byakuya reassured him. “I’m just curious to know what was lost.”

And whether or not it could ever be recovered, and, if it would make any difference.

Most likely the damage was done. 

Fighting Masama’s cruelty with kindness was, no doubt, fool-hearted and naive. Yet, digging in heels only served to make her double-down. She’d responded well enough when Byakuya had offered to let her search for a suitable heir, so….

That reminded him. “Would you send in Shinobu, as well? Since I’m stuck in-house, I should make use of the opportunity to instruct him in the duties of clan head.”

Perhaps fearing even more work, Eishirō asked, “Will that be all, m’lord?”

Byakuya waved him off with a little smile, “Yes, thank you.”

#

Renji was just about to break for lunch when word came that Ando was at the front gate. With the Fourth Seat coming on duty anyway, Renji left everything to him and hurried off to meet up with the Tenth Seat. As he walked, Renji tried to recall what he could about the guy. Blond? Brunette? Renji had no idea what the guy looked like, though he was pretty sure the Tenth was the one with the zanpakutō with kidō-based projectile powers, not unlike Hinamori’s Tobiume.

Zabimaru murmured agreement.

Right. Ando had some cool release command, too. Like, “Tear the Heavens!” or “Cast Asunder!” 

“‘Asunder’ is such a fucking awesome word,” Renji muttered to Zabimaru. “Why didn’t you give us something like that?”

_‘Howl’ suits us_ , grumbled the baboon king.

_Speak for yourself_ , hissed the snake’s tail.

_If we had ‘Strike’ everyone would assume we were only a snake_ , the baboon insisted. _‘Howl’ reminds people that we are a chimera._

Renji snorted. “No one remembers that. Even Byakuya still thinks we’re just an animal.”

_As long as you remember the truth_, the snake spat. _Fuck everyone else._

With a chuckle, Renji patted Zabimaru. “Someone woke up grouchy.”

There was an irritated hiss that rattled through Renji’s brain. The baboon king sighed heavily, but seemed to settle down. 

At the gate stood two travel-weary shinigami. Seeing them, Renji recognized Ando. He was tall and rangy, with an impatient and restless air about him--reminiscent of Ichigo, in a way, though several notches less brilliant. His hair was, unlike the rest of him, very staid and traditional; long, straight, and a silken black that fell nearly to the middle of his back. It was left mostly loose, except for a few bits that had been pulled away from his face and tied into a sloppy bun. He was handsome in a distracted, fiery way. Byakuya would probably find him cute, anyway.

The unseated was someone Renji didn’t know terribly well. He had a vague memory she was new to the Division, having transferred in from the Third, maybe? She was petite, smaller than even Rukia, with a rat’s nest of blonde hair in a haphazard pixie cut. She had large green eyes that made her look perpetually surprised or wary, like some kind of woodland sprite from a fairy tale.

They both bowed deeply at Renji’s approach. “Are either of you injured?” he asked. As much as he wanted to hurry them to the estate, it wouldn’t do to have either one of them pass out from blood loss or something. 

“I got a little bruised,” the unseated said excitedly. Then, she lifted up her hands to show raw marks on her wrists, “Oh! And, rope burned, when they tied me up!”

The Tenth Seat rolled his eyes, “I’m pretty sure the lieutenant meant serious injury, Kaminari-chan.”

‘-chan’? The road had made them close, maybe? Or perhaps they were already friends from childhood or Academy… or even the Division? Also, this tiny thing was named ‘Thunder’? It was kind of hilarious, but Renji let it go without comment. “I know you’re both exhausted and hungry, but I want you to make a report to the captain right away. Follow me to the estate. I’ll explain how this goes as we walk.”

“The captain?” It was little Thunder again, sounding terrified now as she scurried along behind Renji. “I’ve never met the captain in person. I mean, of course, I’ve seen him, but mostly it’s across a crowded meeting hall or in passing. He looks… scary.”

Renji opened his mouth to reassure her, but Ando said, “He is. Captain Kuchiki is incredibly terrifying. You’ll probably faint from his reiatsu.”

When she squeaked like a little girl, Renji thought maybe she would, too. “Eh, if it happens, it happens,” Renji shrugged. Truthfully, Aunt Masama was right about him. Byakuya was a lot better at suppressing his reiatsu than Renji was. If Thunder-girl hadn’t fainted in front of Renji, she’d likely be fine in front of Byakuya. Unless, Byakuya got really pissed off for some reason. “You’re going to be close to the ground, at any rate. Can you sit seiza?”

Renji glance behind him to see Thunder-girl nod. He gave Ando a look to ask ‘and you?’ and he nodded curtly, adding a slightly imperious, “Of course.”

Yeah, Renji would have guessed upper-crust with that hair. The fiery restlessness, though--it made Renji want to ask ‘where are you from?’ But, instead, he focused on the business at hand. They’d gotten to the front door of the estate, so Renji paused. 

Turning to face them, Renji said, “Normally, you’d give your report to me and I’d report to the captain, but since this involves his relatives, I figured it’d be best if he could ask you what he wants to know direct. But, I still want to hear about it first, so I can brief him on the basics. What happened out there?” 

Kaminari looked a little uneasy at being on the spot. A deep scarlet blush flushed her face and she kept looking to Ando, as if hoping for help. 

With a sigh, Ando said, “Well, sir, when I first approached the caravan I knew something was up right away. They’d circled their palanquins and had a campfire going. From what I could tell, they’d been stopped for awhile. It made me suspicious, so I called out the protocol greeting. I didn’t get the right response. In fact, no shinigami met me at all, only the family head. When I asked Yukimura what was going on, where the escort was, he tried to act like they’d never been assigned one. I knew that was bullshit--pardon the language, sir, but I specifically asked to go after Kaminari, because… well, we’ve been friends a long time and I was worried about her.”

That seemed obvious enough, though now Renji wondered if they were more than friends, as well. “The family didn’t immediately ask for a ransom?”

Ando shook his head. “No, they kept trying to deny Kaminari was ever with them.” He stopped talking abruptly and gave Kaminari a look. 

Renji watched this exchange curiously. He thought maybe he could guess what happened. “So you lost your temper.”

Ando gave Renji a helpless look. “Do I have to tell the captain that part?”

“Depends,” Renji said, pulling the cord to summon Eishirō. “Did you kill anybody?”

“No, sir!” Ando said. “They’re civilians! I… uh, might have blown up a couple of empty palanquins, though.”

Kaminari made an exploding gesture with both hands and mouthed ‘Boom!’

“You’re damn sure they were empty?” Renji asked, while giving Thunder-girl a look of disapproval.

“Yes, sir! Very sure. Nobody was inside.” Ando also shot her a ‘you’re not helping’ glare. “I just needed to show them I meant business. After that, they surrendered Kaminari and we high-tailed it outta there.”

Eishirō slid the door open. His smile faded when he saw Renji had other shinigami in tow. “Shall I prepare the captain’s office for a formal debriefing, master Abarai?”

“That’s probably a good plan,” Renji said. “We’ll wait here until the captain is ready for us.”

They stepped inside the entrance hall. Renji removed his sandals and the other two followed suit. The way they both looked around in awe of the opulence of the cherry wood beams and expertly painted fusuma panels made Renji reassess Ando for a third time. To be fair, the guy could still be noble. Byakuya’s lifestyle was high above even the average noble’s. 

Kaminari whispered, “The captain… lives here?” When Renji nodded, she breathed, “Wow.”

As they looked around cautiously, Renji considered the strange behavior of Byakuya’s family. They’d taken the escort captive. They’d been stopped on the road, camped. They didn’t ask for a ransom and were keeping the escort’s presence a secret. “They were waiting for somebody,” Renji guessed out loud. “You got to figure, right?”

“Who, the family, sir?” Ando asked, pulling back from inspecting the painted ceiling tiles. 

“You suppose it was mercenaries?” Renji wondered. “You think that’s why they let you and the escort go so easily?” 

“Easy? You think that was--” Ando started to protest.

“What was their route?” Renji cut him off to ask Kaminari. “Were you traveling close to the Rukongai wall?”

“Close enough, I suppose, sir,” she nodded. 

“I should’ve brought a map,” Renji muttered. “Shit, I’m going to have to get Eishirō to send someone over to the Division to get Nanako’s route map.”

“I’ll do so right away, sir,” Eishirō said coming down the staircase. “But if you’ll follow me, his lordship will see you now.”

#

Byakuya’s hands moved to adjust the kenseikan before he remembered he no longer wore it as part of his uniform. It was going to take some getting used to, this bare head, especially as strands of hair kept falling in front of his eyes. 

When word came that Renji had arrived with shinigami in tow, Byakuya had sent Shinobu off with a book of family history, and had gotten dressed in his captain’s uniform. His shorter hair looked terribly wrong, but there wasn’t much to do for it, though he did inform Eishirō that he should hire a hairstylist to come and attend to the ragged ends.

He stopped trying to fuss with it when a knock at the door signalled their arrival. “Come,” Byakuya beckoned.

They were introduced from the door: Renji, the Tenth Seat Shin Ando, and an unseated officer with the unusual name of Kaminari Yagi, which Byakuya’s mind translated as “Thunder Goat.”

When Renji came striding in, Byakuya had a moment of… awe. Even after all they’d been through, Renji never failed to impress Byakuya, particularly at moments like this, when he was in full soldier mode. His movements were confident and powerful, his hair like a spiky crown of fire, and his forehead tattoos, which he’d left uncovered, so fierce and wild. 

There was almost a physical sense of disappointment when Renji took up position, standing behind Byakuya, out of view. It was just as well, however. When Renji was in the room, Byakuya could see no one else.

Now he could focus his attention on the two shinigami with dust from the road graying their uniforms. Both seemed to be minor nobles from the looks of them and how easily they both settled into proper seiza. The man--Ando?--clearly so, his hairstyle alone giving his blood away. The woman with the bad blonde dye job, evident from her black eyebrows, and that terrible name… no, it had to be an _assumed_ name with her delicate features, porcelain skin, and sea green eyes. 

“Yagi?” Byakuya asked smoothly, “Surely, you mean Ukitake.”

She gasped. Her eyes went wide and she glanced at her companion, who nodded at her. It must have been an encouragement for the truth because she bowed her head, as though in defeat, and sighed, “My elder brother, my lord. He can’t know I’ve joined the Gotei. He’d kill me!”

“Oh my gods,” Renji groaned from behind. “A Ukitake? Are you fucking kidding me?”

Byakuya raised his hand to stop Renji’s diatribe. “If the Lieutenant didn’t know your identity, then that must not be the matter that’s brought you here, to me. We’ll deal with that later.”

“Right,” Renji said, pulling himself together with a grunt. “Here's the situation, Taicho. Yagi/Ukitake here was assigned as escort to your cousins, the Yukimura family. Normally, a simple enough detail for unseated, but, of course, we were on alert after your arrest, sir. Power vacuum and all that. Anyways, Nanako sent out seated to check on everybody, just as a precaution. We weren’t expecting much, but Ando here came across something pretty suspicious. The Yukimura were stopped. Camped. When Ando approached them, they didn’t give the protocol response, and they tried to act like they were never assigned an escort.”

Byakuya frowned, hearing all this. Yukimura? Distant relations at best, though favorites thanks to their interests in Kabuki. 

“Ando was able to impress upon Yukimura the seriousness of the situation,” Renji continued, “And, they surrendered Yagi/Ukitake without fuss.” 

Byakuya knew Renji well enough to ask, “How much damage did this ‘impression’ make?”

Ando opened his mouth, but Renji said, “Nothing more than property damage from the sounds of it. But, you ain’t going to get complaints from Yukimura.”

“You’re so certain?” Byakuya turned to glance at Renji.

“Yep, my money says Yukimura gave up his captive because he was keeping her hidden anyway. He wanted the shinigami out of there, in a hurry. Plus, he clearly didn’t know what he had his hands on.” Renji said with another grunt. Then, added, “I dunno, Taicho. I get the feeling they were waiting for someone, mercenaries, maybe.”

“Yukimura? Making a move for clan head?” Byakuya tried not to scoff. “It seems unlikely for a family of such means. They own theaters, Renji.”

“Yeah, well, I can think of at least one theatre guy with a grudge, can’t you, Taicho?”

Indeed. Isoroku. Byakuya returned his attention to the two officers. “Were you joined by anyone?”

Kaminari glanced around nervously, but said, “Yukimura picked up several… vagabonds along the way. They told me it was their policy. Recruitment for the stage? I didn’t really ask. Seemed kind of skeevy.”

“No one traveling with their own retinue?” Byakuya wondered. 

“Oh!” she nodded, “Yes, an actor friend of theirs, Yukimura said. He was very funny, made everybody laugh. Cute, too, though I’m not much for pink hair on a guy.”

“No,” Byakuya said sharply. “Me neither.”

**Author's Note:**

> Canon says Ukitake has five brothers and two sisters. That's a lot to keep track of. I know it's a bit risky to write someone so close to a canon character, but I've decided to give it a try. (If she doesn't fit your personal head canon, feel free to ignore her. I don't think she's going to end up super-relevant to the plot. She just appeared, courtesy of the Muse, so here she is.)


End file.
